34869: Mistakes made when entering the Haram

We see some people in ihraam, when they enter the Haram (Sanctuary), standing and reciting certain du’aa’s which are not narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and they insist on entering through a specific gate. Is this action correct?.

Praise be to Allaah.

These are some of the mistakes that are made when entering
the Haram. They may be explained as follows:

Firstly:

Some people think that it is essential for the pilgrim doing
Hajj or ‘Umrah to enter through a specific gate of al-Masjid al-Haraam. So
some people think that if they are doing ‘Umrah they must enter through the
gate called Baab al-‘Umrah, and that this is essential and is prescribed in
sharee’ah. Others think that they must enter through Baab al-Salaam, and
that entering through any other gate is a sin or is makrooh. There is no
basis for this. The pilgrim doing Hajj or ‘Umrah may enter through any gate,
but when he enters the mosque he should enter with his right foot first and
say what is narrated for entering all mosques, and send blessings upon the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and say, “Allaahumma
aghfir li dhunoobi waftah li abwaab rahmatika (O Allaah forgive me and
open to me the doors of Your Mercy).” Narrated by Muslim, 713.

Secondly:

Some people have invented specific du’aa’s for when one
enters the Mosque and sees the Ka’bah, and have introduced du’aa’s that were
not narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him). This is a kind of bid’ah (innovation). Worshipping Allaah with words,
actions or beliefs that were not known to the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) and his companions is innovation and
misguidance which the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) warned us against.

Thirdly:

Some people - even those who are not doing Hajj – mistakenly
believe that the greeting for al-Masjid al-Haraam is tawaaf, in the sense
that it is Sunnah for everyone who enters al-Masjid al-Haraam to do tawaaf,
basing that on the view of some of the fuqaha’ that the Sunnah when entering
al-Masjid al-Haraam is to do tawaaf. In fact this is not the case. Al-Masjid
al-Haraam is like all other mosques, concerning which the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When any one
of you enters the mosque, let him not sit down until he has prayed two
rak’ahs.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 444; Muslim, 714.

But if you enter al-Masjid al-Haraam to do tawaaf other than
the tawaaf of Hajj or ‘Umrah, or for a voluntary tawaaf, then it is
permissible for you to do tawaaf without praying two rak’ahs first. This is
what is meant by saying that the greeting for al-Masjid al-Haraam is tawaaf.
Based on this, if you enter with no intention to do tawaaf, rather you are
waiting for the prayer or you are coming to attend a lesson etc, then
al-Masjid al-Haraam is like any other mosque and it is Sunnah to pray two
rak’ahs before you sit down, because the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) enjoined that.